A South Florida Republican said it was a mistake to shoot at a target with the initials of the Democratic congresswoman he is trying to unseat.

Candidate Robert Lowry made a brief statement to a local newspaper but refused to speak further Friday about the incident, which happened Tuesday during a weekly GOP meeting held at a gun range.

Organizer Ed Napolitano defended the gathering, as well as the use of targets that appeared to be gunmen with traditional Arab head scarves.

Wow, Arab head scarves, how disrespectful can you get? That is really classy and yet, SMART!!!

"That's our right," said Napolitano, president of the Southeast Broward Republican Club. "If we want to shoot at targets that look like that, we're going to go ahead and do that."

Lowry declined to comment to The Associated Press. He initially told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that shooting at a target with the letters "DWS" — a not-so-veiled reference to Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz — was a "joke," but then said it "was a mistake."

His campaign manager, Chris Leggatt, said Friday: "I don't think we need to make any further comment about it. It's an issue that's been addressed."

Wasserman Schultz, who made headlines earlier this year when she announced she had been secretly battling breast cancer, represents a liberal district that includes a stretch of South Florida from Fort Lauderdale to Miami Beach. She is expected to easily win re-election, though Lowry and three other GOP candidates are vying to face her.

The congresswoman declined to comment. A spokesman, Jonathan Beeton, said "We didn't feel that behavior dignified a response."

I am comfortable to say that Debbie Wasserman Schultz should win re-election next year, with the likes of this idiot, no problem.

I saw this segment from Rachel Maddow's show last night and felt the same way on why President Obama deserves this Nobel Peace Prize. The faux outrage from the Republicans and right wing crazies is all about hate. This from the same people who jumped up and down in glee that the United States lost the 2016 Olympic bid. The more this is done, the more these idiots look like unpatriotic Americans. George W. Bush DRAINED all the good will and political capital that the United States of America had with is "us vs. them", "axis of evil" tone coming from the United States. And we paid the price for it, we had to go it alone in Iraq and look what has happened, we found out that we had no business going there and destroying that country and have paid in the billions to trillions for two wars that have brought us NOTHING in return but almost bankruptcy.

We have all been through this for two years. Barack Obama was the only candidate that campaigned on talking to our enemies, talking about diplomacy, talking about removing nuclear arms and he was ridiculed. Barack Obama was constantly told he has done NOTHING to deserve the Democratic Nomination, in fact Hillary Clinton was so sure that the super delegates would give the nomination to her that she campaigned to the very last state up until June. Barack Obama was told he was not ready, needed to wait, and had not done nothing, enough to be President of the United States. Well, all those conventional wisdom know it alls were wrong, as they are wrong now. In the end, when history will speak, many will say he deserved it. h/t Daily Kos

The President goes through the leading conservative and Republican figures who have come out one after another urging passage of health insurance reform. After a summer of intense debate, cooler heads begin to prevail to make progress for the American people.

This is some crazy shit!! Whenever President Obama gets something positive or something done positive, the right winged crazies goes batshit CRAZY!! And Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize has made them ultra crazy.

Q: I think the point a lot of your favorite people, pundits, have been making is that the response to this has been like this. I mean, most Democrats have praised it, and most Republicans have said, you have got to be kidding me — Ronald Reagan didn’t get one, but Barack Obama, nominated 12 days after he was sworn in, gets a Nobel Peace Prize. And the fear among some, even some Democrats, is that this is going to widen the partisan divide and make things even more difficult to accomplish on every front.

After everything that Obama has been through, he should be concerned that an award given to him will divide things? And worry about the Republicans? PLEASE, the other side will NEVER vote on ANYTHING Obama.

First, Obama did not submit his name for this, in fact there was 12 days AFTER his inaugeration for the deadline. Eventually, we will know who submitted his name.

Second, Obama did not expect to win. He has not been in office for even a year, but the man has been talking peace and disarmament throughout his campaign into his presidency.

Third, there is no doubt that the George W. Bush regime screwed up things internationally and domestically. Is this a referendum? It could be, but don't expect any BUSH to grace any stage of Oslow, Norway any time soon.

Lastly, conservatives and Republicans if you are pissed, send it to Oslow, Norway. This nastiness, like your reaction to Chicago losing the Olympics for the USA leaves a nasty taste in many mouths, a.k.a., it does not look good on you and turn others away from your philosophy and the Republican Party.

John Miller, National Review:

Obama isn’t the first American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but he’s the first to win it without having accomplished anything…Obama’s award is simply the projection of wishful thinking.

Mickey Kaus, Slate:

Turn it down! Politely decline. Say he’s honored but he hasn’t had the time yet to accomplish what he wants to accomplish. Result: He gets at least the same amount of glory–and helps solve his narcissism problem and his Fred Armisen (’What’s he done?’) problem, demonstrating that he’s uncomfortable with his reputation as a man overcelebrated for his potential long before he’s started to realize it.

Michael Binyon, the Times of London:

Rarely has an award had such an obvious political and partisan intent. It was clearly seen by the Norwegian Nobel committee as a way of expressing European gratitude for an end to the Bush Administration, approval for the election of America’s first black president and hope that Washington will honour its promise to re-engage with the world.

Instead, the prize risks looking preposterous in its claims, patronising in its intentions and demeaning in its attempt to build up a man who has barely begun his period in office, let alone achieved any tangible outcome for peace.

Rachel Abrams, The Weekly Standard:

Not A Parody…This is too perfect. Obama could turn it down on the grounds that not all his peace plans have come to fruition yet, but why should he?

Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times:

I am a genuine admirer of Obama. And I am very pleased that George W Bush is no longer president. But I doubt that I am alone in wondering whether this award is slightly premature. It is hard to point to a single place where Obama’s efforts have actually brought about peace — Gaza, Iran, Sri Lanka? The peace prize committee say that he is being rewarded for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy”. But while it is OK to give school children prizes for “effort” — my kids get them all the time — I think international statesmen should probably be held to a higher standard.

And, last but not least, the Taliban:

“We have seen no change in his strategy for peace. He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan.”

Turn it down? Please that is like Chicago winning the Olympics and saying, "Thanks, but no thanks." President Obama's vision was embraced, INTERNATIONALLY, every American should be PROUD. And FYI, the Dec. 10th Nobel ceremony in Oslo will be convenient for Obama, who will attend the Copenhagen climate conference, which begins Dec 7th. In other words, President Obama will give a KNOCK OUT SPEECH, and pick up his award. OK??

Conservatives, Republicans if you are Americans, "Get over it. And get patriotic to embrace this moment in time." That includes you, MORNING JOE. No upside? Please. These cable desks idiots are just that, idiots!!! And finally, this is the java jolt that President Obama and his White House needs.

President Barack Obama is the third sitting president to receive this award.

In a stunning surprise, the Nobel Committee announced Friday that it had awarded its annual peace prize to President Obama “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” less than nine months after he took office.

“He has created a new international climate,” the committee said in its announcement. With American forces deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Obama’s name had not figured in speculation about the winner until minutes before the prize was announced here.

Reporters at a news conference to announce the prize pressed the committee’s chairman, Thorbjorn Jagland, to explain the reasons Mr. Obama had prevailed over other candidates who included human rights activists in China and Afghanistan and political figures in Africa.

Specifically, reporters asked whether Mr. Obama might not become mired in a war in Afghanistan as Lyndon B. Johnson was in Vietnam.

But the committee said it wanted to enhance Mr. Obama’s diplomatic efforts so far rather than anticipate events in the future.

Mr. Jagland, a former prime minister of Norway, said that Mr. Obama had already contributed enough to world diplomacy and understanding to deserve the prize.

As to whether the prize was given too early in Mr. Obama’s presidency, he said: “We are not awarding the prize for what may happen in the future but for what he has done in the previous year. We would hope this will enhance what he is trying to do.” read more here...

A total shocker for the international community and especially for the OTHER SIDE. The wake up call was received by White House Communications Director, Robert Gibbs.

The senate had no choice, these unemployment numbers are horrendous. Main fact, unemployment benefits extended in all 50 states for 14 weeks. Of course, the Republicans tried to stall, but that did not work because even their constituents in their states are on the unemployment dole and need this money.

Senate Democrats said Thursday they have reached a deal to extend unemployment insurance benefits to the nearly 2 million jobless workers across the country who are in danger of running out of assistance by the end of the year.

The agreement would give an additional 14 weeks of benefits to jobless workers in all 50 states. Workers in states with an unemployment rate at 8.5 percent or above would receive six weeks on top of that.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., tried to bring the measure to a quick vote on the Senate floor, but Republicans objected, saying they needed more time to study the proposal and its costs and possibly offer amendments. read more here...

Economy is number one issue on the minds of people in this country. Creating jobs are going to be the number one issue going into 2010. If the unemployment numbers are what they are today, next year this time, Democrats are going to have a very hard time. And Obama get off the tax crap. We have bailed out all the big wigs in the bank and Wall Street game, but nothing is coming to Main Street. Today in the City of Detroit the unemployment numbers are 27.8% in that city ALONE. 35,000 residents lined up in the streets for federal stimulus money to help pay for housing, but only 3,500 will get it. The unemployment numbers are continuing to go up and I mean in folks not being able to find a JOB.

This is the challenge for the Obama Administration and Wall Street is not an accurate measure of what is going on out here. With NO JOB CREATION, how are folks going to be able to find a job. And all this vapor of Wall Street and their money, that is not the reality on Main Street. Obama Administration wake up on this. The main issue is still many neighborhood banks not able to get credit, students unable to get loans, continuous problem with mortgage loans for many is not happening out here on Main Street.

Lastly, something my mother said has stuck with me, "...letting all those jobs go overseas has come back to bite us in the ass." I agree, until this country start making something again, we are going to see lines like this bellowing all over the country.

From The Ed Show:

Anger of people is boiling slowly, if we are still talking about this next year before the mid-term elections, the Obama Administration and the Democrats are in trouble. And the NUMBER ONE issue with Americans is the economy, get on it Obama Administration.

Oklahoma plans to display all women who had an abortion, to put their information on a public website.

All I can type is that this shit is outrageous.

Many women have had abortions, for whatever reason, and yes, to some to SAVE THEIR LIVES, but to put this out there is totally bogus. And we can bet that it is the same old style of PALE, STALE, MALES that are making this type of decision in regards to women.

On Nov. 1, a law in Oklahoma will go into effect that will collect personal details about every single abortion performed in the state and post them on a public website. Implementing the measure will “cost $281,285 the first year and $256,285 each subsequent year.” Here are the first eight questions that women will have to reveal:

1. Date of abortion2. County in which abortion performed3. Age of mother4. Marital status of mother (married, divorced, separated, widowed, or never married)5. Race of mother6. Years of education of mother (specify highest year completed)7. State or foreign country of residence of mother8. Total number of previous pregnancies of the mother: Live Births, Miscarriages, Induced Abortions

Can I ask whose fucking business is this? And the Republican Party is wondering how they have lost and are still LOSING the women vote? Again, feels like you are in 1850, not 2009.

As I watched some of Dylan Ratigan's Morning Meeting on MSNBC, one thing that was said is totally right, "...Rangel has been in congress for 20 terms..." Folks, that is 40 years and the ethical mess he is in probably is attuned to Rangel not keeping CURRENT and knowing what is allowed and not in congress. Is it an excuse, NO, but when you are walking around the halls of congress for 40 years, you continue to think and believe that you are the big cheese and unstoppable. This is Rangel.

I have written about Congressman Rangel and his ethic problems, not pretty. Yet again, we see Rangel untouched by forcing him out of his powerful chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee.

Democrats, if you don't take Rangel out the Republicans eventually will and to your expense.

The Republicans are, however, completely right about Rangel. Whenever a powerful committee chairman has so many problems that you need a timeline to keep all the allegations straight, he is a liability. When those problems revolve around things like failure to pay taxes, it is not a good plan to have him be in charge of tax policy.

I say this with great sadness because Rangel is my congressman. My neighbors and I have heard about the totally ludicrous benefits that are showered upon the constituents of a powerful committee chair. Ever since he took control of the Ways and Means Committee, we have been waiting for our ship to come in. Perhaps bearing a special subsidy for families who live near a large number of pigeons. Or an extra lane on the West Side Highway that only residents of the 15th Congressional District are allowed to use.

Despite my great stake in keeping Rangel in his current post of power, I’m not prepared to argue that you can have a chairman of the tax-writing committee who failed to declare $75,000 in rental income on a Caribbean villa on his tax returns. Or one who seems to think you can turn yourself into a resident of two different cities if it gets you cheaper housing — and that the House only requires its members to list their financial assets beginning with the letters F through M.

The Democrats made no attempt whatsoever to defend Rangel when the Republican resolution came up in the House. They just swiftly and sullenly referred it to the ethics committee, which is currently embarked on Year Two of its Charles Rangel investigation.

The Democrats won the house and senate in 2006 due to the War in Iraq and primarily due to the continuous ETHIC SCANDALS of the Republican Party and their inability to police its own. Democrats, you need to police your own and starting with Rangel.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Again, Science back in the saddle at the White House. We can now go forward into the 21st Century, instead of looking back into the 1950's. This country was, at one point, the leaders in science and technology, it helps to have a President that believes in this too.

The President and First Lady host NASA astronauts, area middle schoolers, and innovators in the field of astronomy for a night of fun, learning, and stargazing on the South Lawn. October 7, 2009.

What kind of country is this? Do we have any morality? I don't care what the Republicans CLAIM about the UK, Canada, France, etc., these countries know the value of LIFE and take care of its citizens. There is no excuse for what this so called "health care system" is in this country, none. We boast and brag about being the best, which we are not, but don't give a mickey-fickey about its citizens. The very minute we allowed the health care industries to go to Wall Street was when all the humanity and empathy left from this industry.

Getting it back, as we see is a bitch, but can we is the real question. Health care is not for the very wealthy and no one else, this is a life and death matter to millions of families, but you don't get that from the health care industry.

When are we going to say enough and I mean from the top on down to who represents us to give us what we demand. Real health care reform and not a vapor.

Lastly, when are we going to get tired of bailing out banks, Wall Street, the auto industry, paying on year 8 on wars with no sight in the end, and start paying for us, the American tax payer. That is where all this outrage is going.

Many Americans have been putting off doctors' visits, forgoing medical tests and taking expired medications to save money over the past year, according to a new poll by Consumers Union.

The survey by the nonpartisan organization found that 51 percent of Americans have "faced difficult health care choices in the past year."

Despite overwhelming concern about how to pay for health care, however, there's still no clear public or political consensus on how to overhaul the system.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to take a final vote on its plan later this week or early next week, with Democrats split over whether to create a government-run alternative to private health insurance or set up a system of co-ops, nonprofit member-run insurance companies. read more here...

As the Isley Brothers have sung, "...a bunch of bullshit going down...."

OK?

Let's be clear here and I can not type it enough. This is not what we voted for. When I say we, I am talking about Independents and Republicans who joined us to vote the Obama Administration in. This is not what we voted for.

We already saw this show, we saw it this summer, in August, with the health insurance companies backing vapor groups, they took over the health care debate in town halls across this country. We saw this.

So, does anyone expect the insurance companies to do any less than to put pressure on all these states to DENY any public option?

It is time for many of us to realize that these politicians are more crooked that a crack in the ground. And can you IMAGINE these insurance companies, wining, dining and writing checks to our lowly state legislators? They have been bought and sold for the LOVE OF MONEY. Remember the O'Jays tune? Well, it is true.

Has anyone asked themselves why, just why, it has taken so long for anything to get done in Washington, D.C.? Why just inchworm steps are taken to change anything? These politicians are shady, lost, sellouts to their lobbyists checks. Period.

Every damn poll has shown that the public option, a government run public option is wanted, yet we have the spineless Democrats in congress who will not do the right thing.

I am recovering from abdominal and intestinal surgery. I had similar surgery 15 years ago and it cost me ZERO. Yet, I did have some complications this time around, it was not for FREE. In total I am looking to spend around or over 5,000 and this is cheap for a 65,000+ procedure. Yet, there are many who have insurance which for the same procedure they will pay much more due to their insurance plan and let us not even think about those who don't have it. Lastly on this, my insurance company DID look at my history and pre-existing conditions, but THANKFULLY for Illinois it expires at 10 years. Damn, what about those that are walking around, as I did, in pain and need it but they don't hit that 10 year mark!!!! And we expect the states, which are 1/2 run by Republicans to want a public option for their constituents? No, boo-boo, this is all about money and the pressure that will come down on each and every state to demolish, dissuade any public option.

Gibbs said Obama's first stop will be in Japan Nov. 12-13, where he will have two meetings with new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Gibbs said the visit with "this key ally" will cover economic, security and other issues.

After Tokyo, Obama flies to Singapore to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting Nov. 13-15, a major forum for economies around the Pacific Rim. In Singapore, he also will become the first U.S. president to sit in on the annual meeting of leaders of ASEAN, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

From Singapore, Obama will fly to China, where he will visit both Beijing and Shanghai Nov. 15-18. While in China, Obama and President Hu Jintao will hold their third meeting to discuss regional and world issues including security, nuclear nonproliferation, energy and climate change.

Obama's final stop will be in South Korea Nov. 18-19. There he and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will have their third face-to-face meeting. North Korea will be among the items on their agenda, Gibbs said.

The best person to raise money right now is President Obama for the Democrats.

President Barack Obama puts on his fundraiser-in-chief hat again later this month.

The president is scheduled to headline a top-dollar dinner for the Democratic National Committee at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York on Tuesday, October 20, according to a Democratic source.

Obama is also the main attraction at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee-Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee joint fundraiser in Miami on October 26, according a a Democratic leadership staff source.

The president also heads back onto the campaign trail later this month. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign says the Obama will team up with the New Jersey governor later this month. The president joined Corzine at a campaign rally this summer, and on Wednesday Vice President Biden teamed up with Corzine in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Call me SKEPTICAL. Why? Rahm Emanuel is a Blue Dog Democrat, nothing wrong with that and warranted in some cases, but health care INSURANCE reform is not a Blue Dog negotiation issue. Why? The Blue Dogs in the House and Senate has STOOD WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANIES.

Now, there are many moving parts in negotiating and I will keep a skeptical open mind, but some things are not negotiating points, as follows:

1) Getting rid of caps on insurance policies2) Removal of pre-existing insurance clauses3) The government run public option

The above is non-negotiable. Why? Because people are dying every day from lack of enough insurance or no insurance, insurance coverage has capped out (a dollar amount is on MOST policies), denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, and lack of affordability in the word of competition for these public insurance companies.

If the three items listed are not in the bill, for me it is welfare for insurance companies. If the Obama White House thinks that people are asleep at the wheel, think again, they are not. President Barack Obama campaign against all three items ABOVE and strongly, if he cannot get these Democrats in order to tow the line, what does that say about him? And PLEASE, George W. Bush practically got EVERY DAMN THING pushed through with LESS numbers than Obama from his party. It is time to wield the power and twist arms, if this cannot be done for a CORNER STONE PIECE OF LEGISLATION of the Obama Agenda, it is failure. If those three very important components are not in the final bill it will be used against the Democrats from 2010 going forward.

The Democratic Party is a big tent party, we accept all visions and arguments, but the Democratic Party has been fighting for health care reform since the days of Harry S. Truman when he wanted health care for all covered by the government. Barack Obama's election was a CHANGE ELECTION. Obama did not win by 1 or 2 points but almost 8 points carrying some states that the Democrats have not won in over 40 years, like Indiana and Virginia. If the Democrats cannot understand the continuous polling numbers on what the PEOPLE want and that is a public option and all the above, then whatever happens going forward starting with the 2010 mid-term elections is not good, then they shot themselves and have to work AGAIN to gain confidence.

And if the Obama White House, which they have not rescinded, but demands that people BUY insurance from these corrupt industries, but none of the above, the joke will be on them. How can you force people to PURCHASE insurance but don't have the main components listed above for some type of reform? This is criminal and insurance welfare to these disastrous companies and I am being NICE in writing this.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Betsy McCaughey is the one who crafted this whole health care debate, which we saw all summer at heated town hall meetings with misinformation and lies. She has tap danced on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but when he was done with her, she resigned from her position. He was that effective in exposing her.

Now on MSNBC with Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) the defender of the public option, Betsy was just exposed AGAIN.

Well, this is all about the bad news out of Afghanistan. For me, terrorists will ALWAYS BE PLOTTING, the thing for the United States is to thwart it so it is not able to magnify. Continuing a war in Afghanistan, eventually, is a no win situation for this President. The domestic front is riddled with problems, people see the government continuing to spend money on wars that are becoming a vapor for some, unemployment has magnified but the real scare is that there are NO JOBS out here. For many Afghanistan is just more money being spent for what? Oh, yes, Osama bin Laden. If found, or if he is alive, would be a physical win and we can shut all this down. But if we never find him, are we going to continue on this course and continue to spend, as Barack Obama has said, "10 billion dollars a month?"

Eventually, all this needs to END.

President Obama at the National Counter Terrorism Center outside of Washington, D.C.

Is this a shock? No. This information has been out here for a while. As long as the insurance companies in this country have the strangle hold of the U.S. citizens, it will always be like this. Getting sick in this country has become unaffordable. The Democrats in Congress can try to water down a bill, do it at your own risk starting in 2010. People voted for change not increments. This is 2009, not 1993.

As Congress presses forward with landmark legislation to revamp the nation's health-care system, lawmakers are grappling with a troubling question:

Are Americans dying too soon? The answer is yes. When it comes to "preventable deaths" -- an array of illnesses and injuries that should not kill at an early age -- the United States trails other industrialized nations and has been falling further behind over the past decade.

Although the United States now spends $2.4 trillion a year on medical care -- vastly more per capita than comparable countries -- the nation ranks near the bottom on premature deaths caused by illnesses such as diabetes, epilepsy, stroke, influenza, ulcers and pneumonia, according to research by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund published in the journal Health Affairs.

"All of these countries have much lower costs than we do," he said, pointing to a giant blue chart showing the United States in last place. "And they have higher quality outcomes than ours." read more here...

The Birther Queen is dreaming of deposing President Barack Obama. All I can type is that, "She will remain in a dream....."

Emerging into the dry Southern California sunshine, Taitz -- dentist, lawyer, wife of a software executive, mother of three and a leading proponent of the so-called birther campaign against President Obama -- walks briskly past her law office, which is conveniently beside the dental practice. Inside the law office is a modest conference room with a table, eight chairs, a couple of abstract paintings and a houseplant. It is here that Taitz dreams of deposing the U.S. president, proving that he is a citizen not of this country but of Kenya, maybe, or possibly Indonesia, perhaps even -- who knows? -- that he is secretly controlled by Saudi Arabia.

"My children are so excited . . . that the president of the United States will have to appear in Mom's office in Rancho Santa Margarita," says Taitz, whose English is richly Russian-accented; she grew up in the former Soviet republic of Moldova.

And if the conference room proves too small to accommodate the presidential entourage and she has to travel to Washington to question the man she refers to as a "usurper," that's okay. Taitz will fly pretty much anywhere to make her argument. The ends of the Earth, one senses, would not be too far away.

It's a lot to take on, but she has help; assisting with her legal filings is Charles E. Lincoln III, a disbarred lawyer and self-described "anarchist." Leaving the office, Lincoln gets in the back seat and Taitz maneuvers her Lexus through the tidy "Real Housewives"-type landscape to a bakery with outdoor seating. For five hours she will discuss her legal crusade, eventually moving to lunch at T.G.I. Friday's.

The Obama Administration received bad news once entering the Oval Office, the unemployment numbers were at 700K a clip, a month, and the Bush Administration did very little to stop it. Well, the TARP package was the only inkling that got the Bush Administration up in arms, mainly because Wall Street was taking a nose dive.

I give the Obama Administration credit, they have worked hard to curtail the continuous 700K a month unemployment numbers, but the other end of the puzzle is that those out of work have not been able to find work and if they have found work it has been at drastically cut wages.

Many understand that Obama inherited this problem, but there is something about elections and being out of work for a long time that hardens many. These voters need to see some recourse, rebound by this time next year. If not, they will probably not even show up to the polls. These are the people that the Democrats need to win next year and they know it.

The search for further remedies is part of a two-track effort in the White House and Congress. Democrats are also considering plans to continue through 2010 the extra unemployment assistance and health benefits available to people who are out of work for long periods. Also likely to be retained, some officials say, is a popular $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers that was included in the $787 billion stimulus law and has helped rouse a housing market that nonetheless remains shaky.

The unemployment and health benefits are otherwise due to expire at the end of this year, and the homebuyer’s credit at the end of November. Extending the unemployment and health benefits alone through next year could cost up to $100 billion. Additional measures would raise the price tag at a time when the White House and Congress are confronting growing pressure to avoid adding to already high deficits.

Yet Democrats are more anxious about stemming the loss of jobs and creating new ones.

With economists forecasting that unemployment could hit 10 percent before job growth returns, perhaps in mid-2010, Democrats face month after month of bad news on the jobs front in a midterm election year, when a president’s party typically loses Congressional seats. Charlie Cook, a longtime nonpartisan election analyst, said last week that he was raising the odds of Democrats losing their House majority to about 50-50.

I am a realist and look at things hard. Since President Obama assumed the Office of the Presidency, my main worry has always been the unemployment numbers and lack of finding a job. Health care, climate control, Afghanistan, will have decisions and we will move on, but for the average American who can not find a job this hits hard and squarely. Not being able to pay for your mortgage, health insurance, car payments, etc., is a reality to every person that wakes up every day. The unemployment numbers must turn around, but not without JOBS and ones with a LIVING WAGE.

Well, the GOP dooes not like Steele dabbling in policy, since he continues to put his foot in his mouth, now the ultimatum. Stick with state issues, get out of POLICY.

GOP leaders, in a private meeting last month, delivered a blunt and at times heated message to RNC Chairman Michael Steele: quit meddling in policy.

The plea was made during what was supposed to be a routine discussion about polling matters and other priorities in House Minority Leader John Boehner’s office. But the session devolved into a heated discussion about the roles of congressional leadership and Steele, according to multiple people familiar with the meeting.

The congressional leaders were particularly miffed that Steele had in late August unveiled a seniors’ “health care bill of rights” without consulting with them. The statement of health care principles, outlined in a Washington Post op-ed, began with a robust defense of Medicare that puzzled some in a party not known for its attachment to entitlements.

Elected Republicans urged Steele to focus on the governors’ races in New Jersey and Virginia and other political matters, such as fundraising, rather than on attempting to establish party policy.

Steele was taken aback by the comments from Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Senate GOP conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Senate GOP policy Chairman John Thune of South Dakota and grew defensive during the 10-minute discussion, according to two people in the room.

Well, the GOP jumped on having a "black figure head" or minority if you wish and they ended up with one who continues to gaffe, not stay on their pages and does what he wants. Now the GOP attempt to reel him in, but I know they would prefer to have someone else in Steele's position, but when you play the "race card" as the RNC did, they have no choice but to DEAL WITH HIM.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

President Obama warns Tehran that it must grant complete access to UN inspectors within two weeks. Will Iran meet these conditions? Plus, pressure mounts to articulate the way forward in Afghanistan. We'll talk exclusively to U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice. In addition, a political roundtable: David Brooks, E.J. Dionne, Rachel Maddow and Mike Murphy.

For President Obama to go to Copenhagen at the last minute, something must have been said for him to make the decision to go. After reading this article, it is all about throwing Chicago and its intel under the bus, from the White House.

I knew that Chicago getting dumped in the very first round smelled like fingerprints of Chicago politics all over it. I was not for Chicago getting the bid because I am from a city that is broken on just about every city political level with corruption. Many Chicagoans were one eye "ok" and the other eye "hell no" when it comes to Mayor Daley and crew orchestrating the Olympics. All you have to do is look at the city and its major problems to be skeptical. Finally, the killing of Derrion Albert, an honor student beaten to death going home from school and the shocking video went viral, just did it for me. Chicago's problems with teens getting killed at school, going to school, coming back from school has escalated the past three years. Did that help Chicago? I don't think it mattered with the IOC, but this killing is bothering many in the Chicagoland area. So....

"The intelligence that we had from the U.S. Olympic Committee and Chicago bid team was that it was very close and therefore well worth our efforts," said Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House advisor. "The message was that . . . a personal appeal from the president would make a huge difference."

In the end, Obama's whirlwind appearance before the IOC proved a disappointment. Chicago lost out to Rio de Janeiro, finishing last among the four finalists. Since the defeat, the White House has defended the trip as a worthy investment of the president's time.

But Obama and his advisors were not sold on the idea until just a few days before Air Force One took off for Copenhagen.

[snip]

Throughout, the Chicago team was pushing for the president to make the trip. Daley and Patrick Ryan, chairman of Chicago 2016, were among those who told the White House that the nose count showed a presidential visit might close the sale, Jarrett said.

Let me be clear, if Chicago had gotten the Olympics it would have been Go U.S.A., all the way, with one eye on who is scammin' who, on the Daley Crew. Sorry, that is how it is here. President Obama was within his right to root for Chicago, his home town, using the excuse of the other countries sent in their top leaders is warranted. But in the end you do not let your man, the President; go out on the limb for a loss. It was a loss, temporary, but a loss. You don't set him up like that. And on Meet the Press, Mike Murphy, one of the more centrist Republicans said, "...you know Valerie Jarrett is running the White House...it was amateur staff week... you know who is running the White House...you never send the President of the United States around the world and you don't know the outcome...."

I don't know who is running the White House, that is debatable and the wording of amateur staff is a tad bit strong, but I agree that you don't send the President of the United States abroad and don't know the outcome. It is a loss, a minor one in the end, but one that President Obama will not do again.

subscribe hereicebergslim on Daily Kos ShareNote: If you are viewing this in Firefox, on 17" monitor or smaller, the left panel may be blown. This is a firefox issue, if you view this in IE, Safari, Opera, Google Chrome, no issue. FYI.